A choice
by Puppysaur
Summary: Jane is 18 years of age, her mother wants her to find a suitor. Will she choose Gunther or Jester?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay… here I am with another story, this just came up out of nowhere so… I plead you to forgive me if it's bad. **

Chapter 1- Suitor Talk

It was annoying. It was so annoying for Jane. She was now 18 and her mother wanted her to choose a suitor. Jane desperately wanted to get away from her mother, Gunther, and Jester. Just for a bit.

"Dragon it is so annoying!" Jane exclaimed waving her hands up in the air. "Well it is nice that you have someone." Dragon reasoned. "Dragon…" Jane said warningly. "What?" Dragon asked looking up from his claws. "Oh Dragon…" Jane said. They were in his cave; Jane had asked him to take her to his cave so she did not have to deal with two men and her mother.

Jester looked for Jane everywhere; he just could not find her anywhere. He sighed heavily and shook his head making the jingling bells ring. "Where is she?" he thought, but he did not realize that he was speaking out loud. "She is out in Dragon's cave." A voice replied. Jester turned he saw Smithy standing next to him. Smithy was slightly taller than Jester. Smithy pulled Jester up to his feet and said, "Do not worry, she will be back soon."

Gunther lifted the barrels of salt as his back ached with severe pain. _Salt…is too heavy. _ Gunther thought as he lifted the last of the barrels. The Merchant stood next to his son watching him lift the barrels. _I could use a little help. _ Gunther thought as he grimaced at the pain. He had been lifting barrels since dawn broke, and his feet went numb. He lost all of his strength, and fell. The barrel of salt fell on him. He moved the last barrel that was on his feet and with his father's voice scolding him harshly, Gunther walked away with pain filling each step.

The Lady-in-waiting needed a chat with Jane. She was more than old enough, and she wanted Jane to choose a suitor. They had talked a day before and Jane's voice was sharp as it came to her as if it were trying to stab her. Her daughter was mad with fury yelling that she did not want a suitor. She remembered Jane's rage; she decided that it would be best to wait a few more days until Jane settled down.

Her father wanted her to be happy, but he did not know which man Jane wanted. So whoever Jane chose, he would approve. His daughter looked like she was absorbed in her thoughts, she often was absent-minded, and he could definitely tell that it was more than a tiny tinge of annoyance.

Jane sighed and looked at the castle down below she had loved the place where she grew up, she loved the people that she worked with, she had everything that she needed, what else could she ask for? Jane repeated her mother's words through her head, _"You must choose a suitor Jane." _ Then she remembered her own rage that had come out like a fire out of nowhere.

Jester shifted from his position on the bed, he was tired of Prince Cuthbert making mischief while he tried to teach the Prince. He had not only been tied to the chair but he had also hit Jester so many times he was sure that he had a lot of bruises. _The prince is 14. He should know better by now. _His own back ached. But as he lay on the bed he wondered, he had heard the whole conversation that Jane and her mother had. He was not supposed to be there, he just happened to walk by when he heard it. He remembered Jane's sharpening words, _"I do not want a suitor!" _ It cut him deeply but he ignored the open wound the best he could and went off to find Pepper for a little help.

Gunther was back at the castle on sentry duty when he fell asleep again. He was so tired and ached then he felt a sharp whack. He looked up to see Sir Ivon towering over him. "Get up lad!" Sir Ivon's voice said sharply. "You will be working in the stables if you keep falling asleep!" Sir Ivon's comment made Gunther get up. His memories went back six years ago when Jane had to do menial chores because she had left her post from guarding the Queen's portrait. And when she had left her post and a vandal had struck. He remembered that he had been teasing her about Sir Ivon's socks. He shivered at the thought, he did not want to be dealing with the Sir Ivon's socks, and he would have to endure the same teasing he did to Jane, except this time that Jane would be doing it to him. Or would she?

While Gunther had been sleeping and had been caught by Sir Ivon, Jester had been in the kitchens with Pepper trying to figure out what to do.

"You see…the Gunther problem" Jester trying to explain to Pepper who just stared at him in complete confusion.

Jester now 20 years of age still struggled for the right words to explain to her. He still laughed at the thought that he called Jane a kid when he said he was a young adult. She was pretending to be mad at him, but they both knew that it was a joke.

Pepper snapped him out of his thoughts and said, "Oh…you mean Gunther is trying to take her away from you."

"Yes! Exactly!" Jester said.

"Does she know how you feel?" Pepper asked. Pepper knew, she knew that Jane knew that Jester loved her, but she also knew Jane tried to ignore all of it. She wanted her knighthood, she was determined she did not want to be distracted by boyfriend issues.

"I think so…" Jester stopped himself and said, "I do not know." He muttered in frustration.

"Well then do you think you should ask?" Pepper suggested as she put the bread in the oven.

Jester kept his silence, he did not want to say yes, or no. because he truly did not know what to do, if he asked he would get a yes or no. he would ask if he had to, if he got a yes he would be more than delighted and ask her if he got a no, what would he do? He'd be rejected. He did not like the feeling of it, and he was only thinking about it.

Pepper heard no response from Jester and came to him said, "It is your choice. You make your choice if you want to ask or not, then if you need help from there, I can help."

Jester left in silence thinking about Pepper's words.


	2. Chapter 2

**And here I am for Chapter 2! (: I've been gone for a week, and I'll be gone again next week, so I apologize if you guys will have to wait. You guys know me all too well; I wouldn't leave you hanging and mark the story complete. Which by the way it still isn't done. I hope these "lines" if make it easier to read…that is if there are any.**

Jester walked up to his chamber and shut the door behind him. _Jane would never choose me. _ Jester thought bitterly. Gunther was strong, he was weak. She spent more time with Gunther, not him. Jester decided that he would not ask Jane. _It is… _he didn't know how to explain all the mixed-up emotions in him. He was first confused and… he did not know the rest of the feelings.

oOo

Jane wanted time, more like she needed time. "I need to think!" Jane screamed in frustration, she really was screaming to no one in particular. She was in the sky above the woods with Dragon.

Dragon covered his ears. Jane was extremely loud. He did not want to say that out loud though.

"UGH!" Jane yelled.

Dragon tried to find a nicer way trying to tell her to calm down and stop yelling. He knew saying, '_Jane please be quiet._' Probably was not the best way. "Jane, if you keep yelling you know that you will lose your voice which is not good since you have not figured out what to do yet, and my ears are in some serious pain."

"Oh sorry." Jane said as she looked down at the vast woods.

Jester paced back and forth, back and forth. For the first time in his life he felt clueless. When his parents had left him he had always felt like there was always a clue hiding and all he had to do was find it. Life had always been like that. But now there was no clue. His eyes wandered around and looked at his chamber. He would go there, just for comfort and then come out and make his decision. _When will Jane return? _Jester wondered.

Just then as if the chamberlain was thinking about the same thing knocked on Jester's door and asked, "Have you seen Jane?"

Jester shook his head no causing the bells on his hat to jingle. He had nearly forgot that he always had his hat on except for the time when the pig was heading toward the Queen, prince and princess, and the time when Jane pulled his hat off making him chase after her. Gunther had made a point that made Jester mad. Gunther had said that, he (Jester) looked like Rake without his hat. Jester's blood boiled, he knew he could not let his anger get the best of him. He dubbed himself the shorter version of Rake, which still was true. Well the look alike part was not true, but the shorter part was.

oOo

Gunther looked around wearily. He slumped down and laid down flat on the dirt ground. Gunther fell asleep AGAIN on sentry duty. He was 20 now, his hair had always been long and raven black, he had grown slightly taller than Jester, but not taller than Smithy. He had been up since dawn and his whole body ached with immense pain. "GUNTHER!" Sir Ivon's voice boomed. Gunther immediately scampered up to his feet and grabbed his sword. "ARE YOU DOING SENTRY DUTY OR SLEEPING ON THE JOB?" Sir Ivon yelled from the knight's quarters. "Sentry duty…" Gunther said as his eyes were still only half way open. "YOU WERE ASLEEP LAD! GET OVER HERE NOW!" Sir Ivon yelled. Gunther felt like putting his hands over his ears because Sir Ivon's voice was so loud. Gunther scampered to his feet, but he had failed to stand up. He landed back on the ground and then again tried to get up.

Sir Ivon looked at the 20 year old. He simply sighed. Even with Gunther at 20 years of age, still slacked off on the job, and he was still simply over confident and did not practice much. Sir Ivon thought about the one thing Gunther loved to do, sleep.

Gunther wondered why Sir Ivon sounded so weary despite his loudness. _What was he thinking about? _Gunther pondered on the question but that question was not answered, to his disappointment only more questions came to his mind. And his thoughts went from what was Sir Ivon thinking about to Jane. He loved her. It was not a feeling he had ever experienced from someone else. His father had never loved him. Gunther thought bitterly. Love to him was difficult for him to explain. He just simply felt it for Jane, but he did not feel anything from Jane. He felt compelling resistance from her. It broke his heart to feel it, but he silently prayed that he was simply misunderstanding the feelings.

oOo

Sir Theodore sat at his desk. He had covered his ears of Sir Ivon's scolding at Gunther. He looked at the test paper he had written and then set it aside. He knew his time was short, whenever his body failed him, he would be gone. He shivered at the thought, where was Jane? He had given her a day off with the permission of the king, and then she off to somewhere. It did not exactly please him, but he understood the pressure she was taking.

Sir Ivon was strong, brave, loyal and true, just as every knight should be. He knew all the weaponry and he almost had it all, just except for a dragon's tooth sword. Sir Theodore waved off the silly thought and continued his thoughts. ….But he could not choose Sir Ivon as his replacement._ Sir Ivon was easily found drunk and asleep when there was a festivity. If an assailant were to strike… he would not be able to give orders. No. Sir Ivon could not be captain of the king's guards. _

Gunther was strong, but he often failed to be a true knight. He had lied when he was a squire and he often needed second chances. But if they were to go into war again, there could not be a mistake and there would not be a second chance. Many lives would be lost.

Jane was always determined. She always practiced even though he had guaranteed that she was well trained. Jane never gave up, and always did the right thing and told the truth. She never once fell asleep on the job or slacked on the job, she never complained in the dead winter when it was freezing, she knew how to lead and she knew her decisions were not to be clouded by her own judgment. Sir Theodore never once saw Jane drinking at a festivity or even eat, she was always on guard no matter where she was. But there was just one thing, she was stubborn. He knew well of that, but none the less Jane would be his replacement.

oOo

"Jane?" Dragon asked.

"Yes?" Jane replied.

"Can we go back?" Dragon asked.

"Of course we can. Just not back to the castle." Jane muttered.

"No, we are going back to the castle. I want you to talk to floppy hat." Dragon said.

Jane groaned. As soon as she got off Dragon she immediately covered her ears because of the yelling.

Dragon cringed and yelled over the already loud yelling, "Jane shall we go back to my cave?"

Jane simply nodded, and then they took off.

Dragon lay back down in his cave relieved that the yelling could not be heard. "Was that old rusty legs yelling?" Dragon asked.

"Dragon, his name is Sir Theodore and I do not believe that it was him, I believe it was Sir Ivon." Jane said.

Just then Sir Theodore came up the mountain, he looked tired and worn out. He was 75 now, and he would soon retire from his knightly duties. "Sir Theodore." Jane said bowing down.

"Jane, you are to do sentry duty." Sir Theodore said.

"I thought Gunther was doing it." Jane said.

"Gunther… that lad had fell asleep twice." Sir Theodore said. "I trust you that you will not fall asleep on sentry duty."

"Of course not Sir." Jane said. "And may I ask what was all that yelling?"

"That yelling that nearly drove me out of Kingdom! The yelling is from Sir Ivon being very cross with Gunther." Sir Theodore said.

"Oh." Jane said and tried to keep her laugh under control.

"And… I would like to speak to you about something very important before the evening meal. That would also be right after you shift of sentry duty since Gunther is doing menial chores. And if you would please stay on duty for the night until tomorrow morning." Sir Theodore said.

"Yes Sir." Jane said and with that Sir Theodore left and Jane flew down with Dragon. "I wonder if the yelling is over…" Jane queried.

"It better be." Dragon muttered.

"Oh dragon…" Jane said as she patted his head.

oOo

Gunther was in the practice yard washing Sir Ivon's socks. "Gross. Gross. Gross!" Gunther said as he held his nose before washing them again.

Dragon smelled something, and he had called the smell of it, "worst than a pile of dung."

Jane wrinkled her nose she went over to the practice yard and felt like she was going to faint, "What in the world is that stench?" Jane queried as she held her nose and coughed.

"That is the smell of this." Gunther pointed to the bucket that held Sir Ivon's socks.

Jane said nothing and made a face of disgust to the bucket and turned to Gunther and said, "Well, serves you for falling asleep on sentry duty."

"How did you know? Gunther asked suspiciously.

"Sir Theodore." Jane said. "He told me to hold your place. Now if you will excuse me, I have to do sentry duty." Jane said as she ran from the practice yard.

Gunther just groaned and continued the washing.

Jester realized that he must have cried himself to asleep. He felt broken inside him now, in his dream, Jane chose Gunther over him. The more he thought about it, the more real it seemed to him. He sniffed and then he smelled something. It did not smell like Dragon's dung, in fact it smelled… _worst than dung. _ Jester thought as he pinched his nose.

Jester walked out his door and walked over to the practice yard where he half expected to see Jane. Instead he saw Gunther. "Gunther, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I am going?" Gunther asked.

Jester paused not wanting to stay any longer. "Sitting with a pile of dung." Jester replied as he quickly walked out to find Jane.

oOo

Jester was so absorbed in his thoughts, and he did look a little absent-minded. He originally went to find, but he could not find his courage to talk to her so he went back to the kitchens where he walked past the "pile of dung"

"Did you ask her?" Pepper asked as she stirred the stew.

Jester shook his head no.

"Jester you have to find the courage to ask. You are not going to find out until you ask." Pepper said as continued stirring the stew.

Suddenly Pepper lit up with joy, and said, "I have a plan!"

_Oh joy…_Jester thought as he pulled himself together.

**Chapter 2 is done! If you're wondering why I haven't updated I'll put it in short terms, no internet, and an overheating laptop (and now it won't even plug in). The solution is getting back my old laptop that is SUPER slow. ): anyways slow laptop is better than no laptop! At least I can continue my stories. **


	3. Chapter 3 Author's note: SORRY!

**Author's Note:**

**Yes, I know you guys hate these. I know you truly do! I'm sorry if I "tricked" you into thinking this was another chapter. But I wanted to let you guys know… there is a poll on my profile page for this story. Whether or not you want Jane to end up with Jester, Gunther, or none of them. Second, homecoming week+ projects + homework= a barely functioning Ana .(I didn't go to the dance…but I'm darn tired…) Now it's Halloween= end of first quarter and I was sick for a while, so that meant a lot of make-up plus the work I have to finish! Ugh…. Anyways PLEASE VOTE. Third thing? Well I just thought I might want to let you know… I will not be updating this story until I get ****one**** more review. :) **

**So PLEASE VOTE, and R+R :)**

**To the ones who have reviewed: Thank you guys so much for the support and encouragement! speaksis2: thank you. I am more of a J+J shipper but this time… I'll go what you guys say! So go to my profile and vote! **

**Many thanks,**

**Ana (Puppysaur)**

**Random note: Now, back to studying for Chinese. :P **


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